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‘Sweden needs to sell itself more’

Sweden is one of the world's most admired and powerful countries but still has a problem talking about it, an international country ranking said, pointing out that the Scandinavian country has much to gain from making its voice better heard.

London-based magazine Monocle, which provides a globalist perspective on international affairs, culture and design, ranked Sweden at number six in its Soft Power Survey. The survey ranked countries after the ability to get what it wants in the world by using its own sense of legitimacy and attractiveness. It was built by looking at a number of indicators, like number of foreign correspondents in the country, Olympic performance and media exports, like film and music. The United Kingdom and France came in as joint winners.

Sweden has much to shout about but unfortunately takes a quiet approach, the survey concluded.

“Much of Sweden’s power lies in its openness to the outside world, curiosity for trends and killer marketing skills. Swedish ad agencies always fare well in international competition”, the magazine said, adding that at this year’s Cannes Lion Swedish bureaus took home 46 prizes.

The magazine also hails the Scandinavian country for being a cool and advanced nation in fashion, technology and academics. Sweden also gets points for its environmental work and welfare society. Due to its neutrality, the magazine points out, the country’s diplomats are widely used as successful mediators in international conflicts.

But too few people across the world know about all this. The magazine clearly urges the country to use its marketing skills to boost its appearance.

“Sweden needs to sell itself more”, Monocle concludes. “A range of Swedish cultural centres promoting the country’s music and arts would be a start”.

The Scandinavian has the privilege of holding both functional and decorative values, according to a nation branding survey last year. With a strong industry, cutting edge technology, breathtaking landscape and exciting culture, Sweden was ranked as one of the most well-liked countries globally.

Sweden is also the world’s second most competitive country, according to the World Economic Forum's annual ranking.

"Sweden is certainly one of the most admired countries on the planet", Simon Anholt told The Swedish Wire. "Fiddling around with slogans and logos does absolutely nothing to affect a country's image, which is deeply rooted in the global cultural commons".